


Cat and Mouse

by Rhysanoodle



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, General Elriel Adorableness, Halloween Costumes, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 07:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21249977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhysanoodle/pseuds/Rhysanoodle
Summary: Wrote this little piece of Halloween Elriel fluff to go along with @sncinder's Halloween painting of the Inner Circle. Go check it out onTumblrorInsta!Azriel gets conned into wearing a kitten costume to a Halloween party. Fluff ensues.





	Cat and Mouse

Azriel hated Halloween. No, that wasn’t true. He was a fan of the spookiness, the decorations, the general aura which always hung in the city during the festivities. What he hated were the parties.**  
**

Yet there was no getting out of them. Rhys and Cassian had been dragging him to them since high school, and he still never found it exciting to dress up in whichever group costume they picked out for him.

This year was different, though. Both Rhys and Cassian had girlfriends now, so instead of dressing them in matching outfits, they had shown up on his doorstep this morning insisting that Elain, the middle sister of both Feyre and Nesta had picked something out for him.

Azriel had been sweet on Elain for some time now, yet the middle Archeron sister still remained a mystery to him. She was nice enough to him, and gorgeous beyond his comprehension, yet he still hadn’t figured out how to ask her out or even figure out if she had any interest in him.

The fact that she’d picked out his costume was an interesting development, though. He wasn’t sure which of his brothers had prodded her into it, but perhaps she hadn’t taken too much convincing, which would be a good sign, no?

Well, he’d thought that until he’d opened up the bag and found a skintight black cat suit complete with ears, tail, and a collar staring back at him.

“No way.” He shoved the bag back in Cassian’s face. “Where’s my real costume?”

“This _is_ your real costume, brother.”

“No thanks. I’ll just wear my musketeer costume from last year.”

“Elain picked this out for you. You wouldn’t want to disappoint her, would you?” Cassian winked at him, the insufferable bastard.

Of course he wouldn’t want to, not when he was still trying to figure out if there was any chance of something happening between them.

“Will we be matching?”

“I didn’t ask her, but I can text Nesta if you want.”

Azriel just shook his head. Nesta would probably just tell Elain that he was having doubts about wearing the damn thing. The two shared a bedroom in their apartment, and Azriel didn’t doubt that the sisters shared much more with each other.

“What do you have to dress up as?” he finally asked Cassian.

Cassian’s smile erupted into a grin as he pulled out a long coat, tri-cornered hat, and rapier. “I got dubbed a pirate.” There was an all-too-knowing smirk on his face as he continued, “Because I’m ‘obsessed with booty’ or something. I don’t know. She picked something I liked, so I’m not going to question it.”

“And you?” Azriel just shook his head at Cassian as he turned to Rhys.

“Feyre loves Disney so we’re going as Hercules and Meg.” Typical cutesy couples costume. Figured.

“I can’t believe I’m going to do this,” Azriel muttered as he grabbed the bag containing his costume and headed into his room to get ready.

Cassian brought him a shot of tequila to pregame just at the right time, because while Azriel had donned the too-tight-to-feel-natural suit and cat ears, he hadn’t been able to put on the little belled collar.

“It’s adorable,” Cassian crooned, pulling out a tube of eyeliner and brandishing it at Azriel.

“What the hell is that for?” Cassian’s makeup was already done up—pretty damn well if Azriel was admitting it.

“Your _whiskers_,” Cassian shot back, the hand holding the pencil and inking a quick line on Azriel’s cheek before he could pull back.

“Are you sloshed already?” Azriel yelled in a panic.

“If you don’t hold still, they’re going to be sloppy,” Cassian reasoned, knowing that this would bother an Azriel whom hadn’t had nearly enough to drink for these shenanigans. He merely sighed and sat still while Cassian put the finishing touches on his whiskers and hooked the belled collar around his throat.

They met up with Rhys, who gave Azriel a fierce “Mrrrow!” upon seeing the completed outfit, in the living room. Azriel flashed him a vulgar gesture before grabbing his wallet and keys off of the counter and trying to find anywhere in the skintight costume to put them. There was nothing.

“Here.” Cassian grabbed them and pocketed them in his voluminous coat.

The three of them walked the few blocks to the frat house throwing the party, the partygoers they passed on the way in not being shy about their catcalls.

Azriel’s face was surely as lit up as the jack-o-lanterns flanking the patio as they entered.

It didn’t take the girls too long to track them down, and the instant Mor, looking stunning as a Red Devil, laid eyes on him, she burst into a fit of giggles. “Oh my god, Az! Your ass is so tight in that thing!” Turning to Rhys she asked, “How the hell did you get him to agree to wear that?”

Azriel nodded at Elain, who was watching curiously from behind the blonde and who suddenly perked up, her eyes widening at the insinuation that this was her idea.

“Cassian said …” Azriel whirled to find his brother doubled over in laughter, only to spin back to Elain whose face was beet red now.

“You didn’t pick this out?” When she shook her head, Azriel gave Cassian a hard elbow in the ribs. “What the hell, man?”

“She did mention it in passing, but maybe she didn’t exactly pick this out for you,” Cassian admitted with a groan, doubling over.

“You deserved that,” Nesta scowled at Cassian, not bothering to help prop him up. Instead she reached one slender finger and gave the bell at his throat a little nudge. “And you deserve this for believing this bastard.” With a smirk, she waltzed back into the crowd, leaving Cassian to follow in her wake.

Nesta had unknowingly started an avalanche of his tipsy friends tinkling the bell on his collar and giggling—Mor, most fervently, though a vampiric Amren was giving her a run for her money. They had made a game out of it, and Azriel was pretty sure they were keeping score.

When he finally caught a slight break, Azriel slunk into the shadows of a doorway and made a beeline for one of the coolers he’d spotted earlier, desperately needing another drink in order to get through the rest of the evening.

When he turned back around, he was shocked to have found Elain in his wake, having snuck after him, apparently. He offered her the can of beer he’d just cracked open and grabbed himself another before taking a moment to fully drink her in.

Her soft chestnut curls were loosely tied back at her neck and cascaded over the baby blue fairy wings she’d adorned herself with. Her matching blue dress shimmered in the fluorescence above, and Azriel also noticed the dainty golden accessories added on in embellishment. In her free hand was a magic wand to complete the look. She was breathtaking.

“Sorry about … that.” Elain meekly gestured to his costume with said wand. “If it’s any consolation, I’m _definitely_ a fan.” Was that a hint of flirtatious teasing Azriel detected in her voice, or was he merely imagining things?

He let her lead the way to an open couch before asking, “Is that so? Are you sure you had nothing to do with this, then?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.

“I swear I didn’t know! I mean a few weeks ago, Cassian was over and he was joking around about costumes, but he and Nesta were going back and forth about ridiculous things! I mentioned it’d be funny to see you as a kitten, but I didn’t know he’d actually go buy you a costume. Why didn’t you pick out your own anyways?”

“Consequence of spending every Halloween in the past decade with my brothers. We used to just wear matching sets, which I let them bicker over since I don’t particularly care about the fanfare. I guess I just hadn’t realized that they might be teaming up with your sisters this year. I hadn’t given a costume any thought until Cassian handed this to me a couple of hours ago.”

She cringed. “Ooooops.” The word was long and drawn out, a smile creeping to her face. “Well at least Mor wasn’t wrong.” Elain immediately took a long draw from her beer, giggling as Azriel’s face heated.

_She likes my ass in this._ It was such an unexpected yet desperately needed revelation that Azriel rode on cloud nine for the rest of the night, hiding away with Elain as they chatted and he did his best not to let anyone but her ring the bell. He still couldn’t wait to get out of this costume the second he got home, but at least it hadn’t been a total bust.

When Elain began to tire and wanted to leave, he offered to walk her home, knowing that her sister might not be ready to leave quite yet, but when he went looking for his keys and wallet, he couldn’t find Cassian or Nesta anywhere.

When he returned to Elain in the foyer of the frat house, he found her buried in her phone. “Oh! I was just texting you. Nesta and Cassian went back to your place. I was advised that you probably shouldn’t go home yet.” She gave him a sympathetic shrug. “Want to wait it out at my apartment?”

Azriel’s stomach did somersaults. Suddenly, all his frustration at having Cassian forget to give him his stuff back had flown out the window. He was getting to spend more time with Elain—alone time with Elain. Even if this never turned into anything more, he could still cherish every minute of it he could get his hands on.

“Of course.” Azriel found Elain’s jacket and offered it to her before leading her through the exit and out into the chilly fall air.

Elain’s bubbly vigour had renewed, and she was practically skipping the handful of blocks it took for them to reach her apartment building.

She led him into her place, and lit one light in the entryway before going about lighting a bunch of candles that had been littered across the counters and coffee table. “I love doing this. It always makes it feel so much more spooky,” she admitted bashfully before pulling him onto the couch with her.

Azriel had wanted to make a beeline for their bathroom. There was a chance Cass had left some clothes over here, and he was willing to put on just about anything to get out of this suit. Even if Elain had definitely snuck peeks at him throughout the night, it wasn’t worth it anymore.

He reached up to unhook the collar but hadn’t even managed to release the clasp when he felt Elain sidle up next to him and start running her fingers through his hair. Gods, his scalp was tingling as her fingers began to massage it, fingernails just slightly grazing the surface.

This woman was going to destroy him as he closed his eyes, allowing his body to unravel beneath her featherlight touch. Azriel could die happy now, his nostrils filled with the smell of her floral shampoo as she leaned into him. He didn’t even give a shit that he still had the cat ears on for she worked around them so efficiently.

She coaxed his head into her lap, allowing him to fully relax against her as she continued this incredibly soft pleasure.

Just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, her hands migrated, the tips of her fingers kissing his ears as she traced them. He opened his eyes to find her face lit up with awe as she memorized every curve of them before her hands traveled to his jaw, sending shivers down his spine.

And then she was kissing him, her lips getting to know his skin as intimately as her fingertips, as she leaned . They worked their way from the stubble at his jawline all the way to the stubble of his throat. God help him—she began to gently scrape his skin with her teeth, and he threatened to lose himself completely.

He needed to taste her now. No fair that she was getting to have all the fun. With one thumb, he coaxed her chin up until she was looking at him raptly, eyes wide as she began to consider what she had been doing, that he might have stopped her because it wasn’t something he wanted from her.

Without giving her a second more to doubt his intentions he began to pull himself up, needing so intently to brush his lips against hers that he completely forgot about the damn bell around his throat.

It chimed incessantly as he fought for purchase, sending Elain into a fit of giggles. Her head tipped back, mirth pouring out of her as she laughed. “Oh my god. I just remembered you’re still a cat,” she cackled as she found breath.

When she finally dared to lock eyes with him again, they were glowing, flecked gold from the embers and her high spirits. She was the most gorgeous being he had ever laid his eyes on. 

Fuck the moment. He pulled her close to him anyways, having never been more attracted to her than in this moment. Her laughter suddenly hitched as they grew close enough to share breath, but she didn’t pull away, eyes searching his just as he did hers.

And so Azriel kissed her. It was a wild, drunken thing full of months worth of questions and fiery answers as their lips mingled frantically, the anticipation clearly mirrored between them. Elain was the sweetest drug, and Azriel felt himself certain that he would be dying if they ever separated.

When she finally pulled away, it was with a quick kiss on the cheek and a rushed, “Would you like to stay tonight?” Her words were music to his ears, but …

“Are you sure? You’ve been drinking, and—”

“I just want to cuddle, and maybe a little more of _that_.” Elain waggled a hopeful eyebrow in his direction.

“Absolutely, but …” Azriel frowned down at his attire.

“Oh, right! Hold on.” Elain disappeared into the bedroom, returning only moments later with a white cotton shirt. “Sorry, he didn’t leave any pants, but, oh well.” She shrugged looking not in the least bit disappointed and let Azriel go into the bathroom to change.

When he emerged, completely devoid of anything remotely resembling a tiny mammal, he found her tucked into a blanket on the sofa, already flipping through channels. “Which scary movie marathon do you want to watch?”

“Whichever one you want,” he said, sidling under the blanket with her and placing a kiss on her temple. “I’m just happy to be here.”

“Me too.” She snuggled into him.


End file.
